U.S. patent application number 16/568430 was filed with the patent office on 2020-04-16 for optical attachment for surgical loupe glasses.
The applicant listed for this patent is LSI Solutions, Inc.. Invention is credited to Jude S. Sauer.
Application Number | 20200117025 16/568430 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 70160113 |
Filed Date | 2020-04-16 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200117025 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sauer; Jude S. |
April 16, 2020 |
OPTICAL ATTACHMENT FOR SURGICAL LOUPE GLASSES
Abstract
An optical attachment for surgical loupe glasses is disclosed.
The optical attachment for surgical loupe glasses includes a visor
sized to cover at least a portion of a first carrier lens of the
surgical loupe glasses. The optical attachment also includes at
least one loupe orienting feature defined by the visor.
Inventors: |
Sauer; Jude S.; (Pittsford,
NY) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
LSI Solutions, Inc. |
Victor |
NY |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
70160113 |
Appl. No.: |
16/568430 |
Filed: |
September 12, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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62745944 |
Oct 15, 2018 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02C 7/086 20130101;
G02C 9/00 20130101; G02C 7/12 20130101; A61B 2090/502 20160201;
G02C 7/088 20130101; A61B 90/20 20160201; G02B 7/002 20130101; G02B
25/007 20130101; G02C 7/10 20130101; A61B 2090/3616 20160201; G02B
25/004 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G02C 7/08 20060101
G02C007/08; A61B 90/20 20060101 A61B090/20 |
Claims
1. An optical attachment for surgical loupe glasses, comprising: a
visor sized to cover at least a portion of a first carrier lens of
the surgical loupe glasses; and at least one loupe orienting
feature defined by the visor.
2. The optical attachment of claim 1, wherein the visor is sized to
cover at least a portion of two carrier lenses of the surgical
loupe glasses.
3. The optical attachment of claim 2, wherein the at least one
loupe orienting feature defined by the visor comprises two loupe
orienting features.
4. The optical attachment of claim 1, wherein the visor comprises a
light filter.
5. The optical attachment of claim 4, wherein the light filter is
selected from the group consisting of a polarization filter and a
color filter.
6. The optical attachment of claim 1, wherein the visor is
opaque.
7. The optical attachment of claim 1, wherein the visor further
comprises: a first optical region; and a second optical region.
8. The optical attachment of claim 7, wherein: the visor is further
sized to cover at least a portion of a second carrier lens of the
surgical loupe glasses; the first optical region is positioned to
overlap with at least the portion of the first carrier lens; and
the second optical region is positioned to overlap with at least
the portion of the second carrier lens.
9. The optical attachment of claim 7, wherein: the first optical
region comprises a first polarization filter; and the second
optical region comprises a second polarization filter.
10. The optical attachment of claim 1, wherein the at least one
loupe orienting feature is completely contained within the
visor.
11. The optical attachment of claim 1, wherein the visor further
defines a flex void in communication between a first of the at
least one loupe orienting feature and an outer edge of the
visor.
12. The optical attachment of claim 11, wherein a width of the flex
void is smaller than a width of the loupe orienting feature.
13. The optical attachment of claim 1, wherein the at least one
loupe orienting feature comprises an arcuate shape.
14. The optical attachment of claim 1, wherein the at least one
loupe orienting feature comprises a squared shape.
15. An optical attachment for surgical loupe glasses, comprising: a
first visor sized to cover at least a portion of a first carrier
lens of the surgical loupe glasses; a second visor sized to cover
at least a portion of a second carrier lens of the surgical loupe
glasses; a coupler between the first and second visor; a first
loupe orienting feature defined by the first visor; and a second
loupe orienting feature defined by the second visor.
16. The optical attachment of claim 15, wherein the coupler is
further configured to couple to a frame of the surgical loupe
glasses.
17. The optical attachment of claim 15, wherein the coupler
comprises a cord.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This Patent Application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Patent Application No. 62/745,944 filed Oct. 15, 2018 and entitled
"OPTICAL ATTACHMENT FOR SURGICAL LOUPE GLASSES." The Ser. No.
62/745,944 application is hereby incorporated by reference in its
entirety.
FIELD
[0002] The claimed invention relates to optical attachments, and
more specifically to optical attachments for surgical loupe
glasses.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Modern advances in cardiac surgery have made it possible to
replace heart valves using minimally invasive surgical techniques.
As minimally invasive techniques have improved, surgeons have been
able to operate on patients through smaller and smaller access
holes, resulting in less perioperative pain and shorter recovery
times. Surgeons will often wear surgical loupe glasses to help them
see better during an operation. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates one
typical embodiment of surgical loupe glasses 30. The glasses 30
have a frame 32 which hold right and left carrier lenses 36A, 36B,
respectively. Each carrier lens 36A, 36B holds (or carries) an
optical loupe 34A, 34B, respectively. The optical loupes 34A, 34B
have magnifying lenses which the surgeon can look through for an
enlarged view and more detail of the surgical site. For each pair
of glasses 30, the optical loupes 34A, 34B are custom located to
correspond to a particular surgeon's eye spacing so that the
surgeon may focus properly on the enlarged image when directing
his/her gaze through the optical loupes. The carrier lenses 36A,
36B may be non-prescription or prescription lenses, depending on
the needs of the surgeon in question. Such surgical loupe glasses
30 are expensive and custom tailored to each given surgeon.
[0004] As incisions for minimally invasive surgery have gotten
smaller, it has become more difficult for surgeons to see target
surgical areas through the small incisions, even when wearing their
loupe glasses. As a result, endoscopes have become one of the
enabling technologies for minimally invasive surgery. Endoscopes
are small optical systems which can be coupled to cameras, and
which are able to provide a view of the surgical site.
Unfortunately, typical endoscopes only capture a two-dimensional
(2D) image, which means that surgeons may struggle with depth
perception when attempting to perform minimally invasive surgery
while observing the surgical site on a 2D monitor.
[0005] Recently, however, endoscope manufacturers have been
developing three-dimensional (3D) endoscopes to help address this
problem. Such scopes have two lens systems and corresponding
cameras to capture the 3D image. The images are displayed on
special monitors which are able to display two different channels
of image information: a left image and a right image. This can be
done in a variety of ways known to those skilled in the art,
including by polarizing each set of visual information differently.
In such a situation, the user would wear special glasses with
different polarizing lenses in each side of the frame. A first type
of polarizing lens would allow only one visual channel to pass to
the left eye for viewing, while a second type of polarizing lens
would allow only the other visual channel to pass to the right eye
for viewing. The human brain interprets the two different images
captured by the 3D endoscope as a 3D image, providing surgeons with
a greatly needed depth perception when using endoscopes for
minimally invasive surgery.
[0006] Unfortunately, it is still desirable for surgeons to be able
to use loupes for some portions of their surgeries, even minimally
invasive surgeries. While a surgeon could have a special pair of
surgical loupe glasses made up with specially polarized carrier
lenses, they would still need a different pair of glasses for
non-polarized (non-3D) use. Furthermore, it is very expensive to
have multiple surgical loupe glasses made up, and such a solution
would be exacerbated by the presence of many differing 3D
technologies, each potentially requiring its own special set of
custom surgical loupe glasses. Surgeons are unlikely to support
such a solution. In the meantime, surgeons observed working with 3D
displays have been swapping between two different sets of glasses:
one set for 3D viewing, and a different set for surgical loupes.
This is not a simple matter given that surgical gloves need to be
removed each time when the surgeon wants to change glasses.
[0007] Therefore, it would be desirable to have an inexpensive
optical attachment for surgical loupe glasses which would enable
surgeons to convert their surgical loupe glasses to be compatible
with 3D display technologies while still enabling loupe usage as
desired, and which can accommodate a wide variety of optical eye
spacings.
SUMMARY
[0008] An optical attachment for surgical loupe glasses is
disclosed. The optical attachment for surgical loupe glasses
includes a visor sized to cover at least a portion of a first
carrier lens of the surgical loupe glasses. The optical attachment
also includes at least one loupe orienting feature defined by the
visor.
[0009] Another optical attachment for surgical loupe glasses is
disclosed. The optical attachment for surgical loupe glasses
includes a first visor sized to cover at least a portion of a first
carrier lens of the surgical loupe glasses, a second visor sized to
cover at least a portion of a second carrier lens of the surgical
loupe glasses, a coupler between the first and second visor, a
first loupe orienting feature defined by the visor, and a second
loupe orienting feature defined by the visor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a top-right-front perspective view of one typical
embodiment of surgical loupe glasses.
[0011] FIG. 2A is a front view of one embodiment of optical
attachments for surgical loupe glasses.
[0012] FIG. 2B is a top-right-front perspective view of the optical
attachments of FIG. 2A installed on a pair of surgical loupe
glasses.
[0013] FIG. 3A is a front view of another embodiment of optical
attachments for surgical loupe glasses.
[0014] FIG. 3B is a top-right-front perspective view of the optical
attachments of FIG. 3A installed on a pair of surgical loupe
glasses.
[0015] FIG. 4A is a front view of another embodiment of optical
attachments for surgical loupe glasses.
[0016] FIG. 4B is a top-right-front perspective view of the optical
attachments of FIG. 4A installed on a pair of surgical loupe
glasses.
[0017] FIG. 5A is a front view of another embodiment of an optical
attachment for surgical loupe glasses.
[0018] FIG. 5B is a top-right-front perspective view of the optical
attachment of FIG. 5A installed on a pair of surgical loupe
glasses.
[0019] FIG. 6A is a front view of another embodiment of an optical
attachment for surgical loupe glasses.
[0020] FIG. 6B is a top-right-front perspective view of the optical
attachment of FIG. 6A installed on a pair of surgical loupe
glasses.
[0021] FIG. 7A is a front view of another embodiment of an optical
attachment for surgical loupe glasses.
[0022] FIG. 7B is a top-right-front perspective view of the optical
attachment of FIG. 7A installed on a pair of surgical loupe
glasses.
[0023] FIG. 8 is a front view of another embodiment of an optical
attachment for surgical loupe glasses.
[0024] FIG. 9 is a front view of another embodiment of an optical
attachment for surgical loupe glasses.
[0025] FIG. 10 is a front view of an embodiment where the optical
attachments of FIG. 2A are joined by an embodiment of a
coupler.
[0026] FIG. 11 is a front view of an embodiment where the optical
attachments of FIG. 2A are joined by another embodiment of a
coupler.
[0027] FIG. 12A is a front view of another embodiment of an optical
attachment for surgical loupe glasses.
[0028] FIG. 12B is a top-right-front perspective view of the
optical attachment of FIG. 12A installed on a pair of surgical
loupe glasses.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0029] FIG. 2A illustrates one embodiment of optical attachments
38A, 38B for surgical loupe glasses. The first optical attachment
38A has a visor 40A which is sized to cover at least a portion of a
first carrier lens of a pair of surgical loupe glasses, such as the
surgical loupe glasses 30 of FIG. 1. The first optical attachment
38A also has at least one loupe orienting feature 42A defined by
the visor 40A. In this embodiment, the loupe orienting feature 42A
has an arcuate shape which is sized to correspond to the shape of
the loupe 34A where it contacts a carrier lens 36A of a pair of
surgical loupe glasses 30. The visor 40A has a light filter 44A.
Depending on the embodiment, the light filter 44A could include one
or more of a variety of different light filters, including, but not
limited to a polarization filter and a color filter. In the example
embodiment of FIG. 2A, the light filter 44A is a vertical
polarization filter illustrated schematically with the vertical
shading lines. In other embodiments, the visor 30A could be opaque.
The visor 40A further defines a flex void 46A in communication
between the loupe orienting feature 42A and an outer edge 48A of
the visor 40A. In this embodiment, the width W.sub.FV of the flex
void 46A is smaller than a width W.sub.LOF of the loupe orienting
feature. In some embodiments, as will be shown below with regard to
FIG. 9. the flex void 46A does not need to reach the edge.
[0030] Similarly, the second optical attachment 38B has a visor 40B
which is sized to cover at least a portion of a first carrier lens
of a pair of surgical loupe glasses, such as the surgical loupe
glasses 30 of FIG. 1. The second optical attachment 38B also has at
least one loupe orienting feature 42B defined by the visor 40B. In
this embodiment, the loupe orienting feature 42B has an arcuate
shape which is sized to correspond to the shape of the loupe 34B
where it contacts a carrier lens 36B of a pair of surgical loupe
glasses 30. The visor 40B has a light filter 44B. Depending on the
embodiment, the light filter 44B could include one or more of a
variety of different light filters, including, but not limited to a
polarization filter and a color filter. In the example embodiment
of FIG. 2B, the light filter 44B is a horizontal polarization
filter illustrated schematically with the horizontal shading lines.
In other embodiments, the visor 30B could be opaque. The visor 40B
further defines a flex void 46B in communication between the loupe
orienting feature 42B and an outer edge 48B of the visor 40B. In
some embodiments, as will be shown below with regard to FIG. 9. the
flex void 46B does not need to reach the edge.
[0031] FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the optical attachments
38A, 38B of FIG. 2A installed on a pair of surgical loupe glasses
30. The flex voids 46A, 46B have allowed the loupe orienting
features 42A, 42B to be aligned over respective loupes 34A, 34B,
thereby converting the carrier lens portions of the surgical loupe
glasses for 3D viewing of a 3D display (by virtue of the differing
light filters 44A, 44B on each of the optical attachments 38A,
38B), while still allowing the surgeon to have magnified vision
when looking through the loupes 34A, 34B. This can be set up before
a surgical procedure using the surgeon's regular or prescription
surgical loupe glasses, does not require permanent modification to
the surgical loupe glasses, and is easily removable for other
surgical procedures.
[0032] FIG. 3A illustrates another embodiment of optical
attachments 50A, 50B for surgical loupe glasses. The first optical
attachment 50A has a visor 52A which is sized to cover at least a
portion of a first carrier lens of a pair of surgical loupe
glasses, such as the surgical loupe glasses 30 of FIG. 1. The first
optical attachment 50A also has at least one loupe orienting
feature 54A defined by the visor 52A. In this embodiment, the loupe
orienting feature 54A has an arcuate shape which is sized to
correspond to the shape of the loupe 34A where it contacts a
carrier lens 36A of a pair of surgical loupe glasses 30.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, the loupe orienting feature 54A is
completely contained within the visor 52A. The visor 52A has a
light filter 56A. Depending on the embodiment, the light filter 56A
could include one or more of a variety of different light filters,
including, but not limited to a polarization filter and a color
filter. In the example embodiment of FIG. 3A, the light filter 56A
is a vertical polarization filter illustrated schematically with
the vertical shading lines. In other embodiments, the visor 52A
could be opaque.
[0033] Similarly, the second optical attachment 50B has a visor 52B
which is sized to cover at least a portion of a second carrier lens
of a pair of surgical loupe glasses, such as the surgical loupe
glasses 30 of FIG. 1. The second optical attachment 50B also has at
least one loupe orienting feature 54B defined by the visor 52B. In
this embodiment, the loupe orienting feature 54B has an arcuate
shape which is sized to correspond to the shape of the loupe 34B
where it contacts a carrier lens 36B of a pair of surgical loupe
glasses 30. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the loupe orienting
feature 54B is completely contained within the visor 52B. The visor
52B has a light filter 56B. Depending on the embodiment, the light
filter 56B could include one or more of a variety of different
light filters, including, but not limited to a polarization filter
and a color filter. In the example embodiment of FIG. 3B, the light
filter 56B is a vertical polarization filter illustrated
schematically with the vertical shading lines. In other
embodiments, the visor 52B could be opaque.
[0034] FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the optical attachments
50A, 50B of FIG. 3A installed on a pair of surgical loupe glasses
30. The loupe orienting features 54A, 54B have been aligned over
respective loupes 34A, 34B, thereby converting the carrier lens
portions of the surgical loupe glasses for 3D viewing of a 3D
display (by virtue of the differing light filters 56A, 56B on each
of the optical attachments 50A, 50B), while still allowing the
surgeon to have magnified vision when looking through the loupes
34A, 34B. This can be set up before a surgical procedure using the
surgeon's regular or prescription surgical loupe glasses, does not
require permanent modification to the surgical loupe glasses, and
is easily removable for other surgical procedures.
[0035] FIG. 4A illustrates another embodiment of optical
attachments 58A, 58B for surgical loupe glasses. The first optical
attachment 58A has a visor 60A which is sized to cover only a
portion of a first carrier lens of a pair of surgical loupe
glasses, such as the surgical loupe glasses 30 of FIG. 1. The first
optical attachment 58A also has at least one loupe orienting
feature 62A defined by the visor 60A. In this embodiment, the loupe
orienting feature 62A has an arcuate shape which is sized to
correspond to the shape of the loupe 34A where it contacts a
carrier lens 36A of a pair of surgical loupe glasses 30. The visor
60A has a light filter 64A. Depending on the embodiment, the light
filter 64A could include one or more of a variety of different
light filters, including, but not limited to a polarization filter
and a color filter. In the example embodiment of FIG. 4A, the light
filter 64A is a vertical polarization filter illustrated
schematically with the vertical shading lines. In other
embodiments, the visor 60A could be opaque. The visor 60A further
defines a flex void 66A in communication between the loupe
orienting feature 62A and an outer edge 68A of the visor 60A.
[0036] Similarly, the second optical attachment 58B has a visor 60B
which is sized to cover only a portion of a first carrier lens of a
pair of surgical loupe glasses, such as the surgical loupe glasses
30 of FIG. 1. The second optical attachment 58B also has at least
one loupe orienting feature 62B defined by the visor 60B. In this
embodiment, the loupe orienting feature 62B has an arcuate shape
which is sized to correspond to the shape of the loupe 34B where it
contacts a carrier lens 36B of a pair of surgical loupe glasses 30.
The visor 60B has a light filter 64B. Depending on the embodiment,
the light filter 64B could include one or more of a variety of
different light filters, including, but not limited to a
polarization filter and a color filter. In the example embodiment
of FIG. 4A, the light filter 64B is a horizontal polarization
filter illustrated schematically with the horizontal shading lines.
In other embodiments, the visor 60B could be opaque. The visor 60B
further defines a flex void 66B in communication between the loupe
orienting feature 62B and an outer edge 68B of the visor 60B.
[0037] FIG. 4B is a perspective view of the optical attachments
58A, 58B of FIG. 4A installed on a pair of surgical loupe glasses
30. The flex voids 66A, 66B have allowed the loupe orienting
features 62A, 62B to be aligned over respective loupes 34A, 34B,
thereby converting a portion of the carrier lens portions 36A, 36B
of the surgical loupe glasses for 3D viewing of a 3D display (by
virtue of the differing light filters 64A, 64B on each of the
optical attachments 58A, 58B), while still allowing the surgeon to
have magnified vision when looking through the loupes 34A, 34B.
Since the attachments 58A, 58B in this embodiment do not fully
cover the carrier lenses 36A, 36B, the surgeon can also have a
portion of the carrier lenses 36A, 36B which can be looked through
without having to look through the filters of the attachments. Such
embodiments enable magnified vision through the loupes, enable 3D
vision through the optical attachments, and enable standard vision
through the carrier lenses, all without needing to swap glasses,
remove gloves, or otherwise inconvenience the surgeon. As with
previous embodiments, this can be set up before a surgical
procedure using the surgeon's regular or prescription surgical
loupe glasses, does not require permanent modification to the
surgical loupe glasses, and is easily removable for other surgical
procedures.
[0038] FIG. 5A illustrates another embodiment of an optical
attachment 70 for surgical loupe glasses. The optical attachment 70
has a visor 72 which is sized to cover at least a portion of two
carrier lenses of a pair of surgical loupe glasses, such as the
surgical loupe glasses 30 of FIG. 1. The optical attachment 70 also
has a loupe orienting feature 74 defined by the visor 72. In this
embodiment, the loupe orienting feature 74 has an arcuate shape
which is sized to correspond to the shape of the loupe 34A where it
contacts a carrier lens 36A of a pair of surgical loupe glasses 30.
In other embodiments, the loupe orienting feature 74 may have other
shapes, and possibly different shapes to correspond to loupes
having an outer housing which is not arcuate. Such shapes may be
useful for orienting the optical attachment 70. The visor 72 has a
first light filter 76A and a second light filter 76B. Depending on
the embodiment, the light filters 76A, 76B could include one or
more of a variety of different light filters, including, but not
limited to a polarization filter and a color filter. In the example
embodiment of FIG. 5A, the first light filter 76A is a vertical
polarization filter illustrated schematically with the vertical
shading lines, while the second light filter 76B is a horizontal
polarization filter illustrated schematically with the horizontal
shading lines. In other embodiments, the visor 72 could be opaque.
The visor 72 further defines a flex void 78 in communication
between the loupe orienting feature 74 and an outer edge 80 of the
visor 72.
[0039] FIG. 5B is a perspective view of the optical attachment 70
of FIG. 5A installed on a pair of surgical loupe glasses 30. The
flex void 78 has allowed the loupe orienting feature 74 to be
aligned over the loupe 34A, thereby converting the carrier lens
portions of the surgical loupe glasses for 3D viewing of a 3D
display (by virtue of the differing light filters 76A, 76B on the
optical attachment 70), while still allowing the surgeon to have
magnified vision when looking through the loupes 34A, 34B. In this
embodiment, a portion of the second carrier lens 36B is still
uncovered and could be used for non-3D and non-magnified vision.
This can be set up before a surgical procedure using the surgeon's
regular or prescription surgical loupe glasses, does not require
permanent modification to the surgical loupe glasses, and is easily
removable for other surgical procedures. Furthermore, since the
optical attachment 70 only couples to a single loupe 34A, it can
work with a variety of glasses having different spacings between
loupes 34A, 34B.
[0040] FIG. 6A illustrates another embodiment of an optical
attachment 82 for surgical loupe glasses. The optical attachment 82
has a visor 84 which is sized to cover at least a portion of two
carrier lenses of a pair of surgical loupe glasses, such as the
surgical loupe glasses 30 of FIG. 1. The optical attachment 82 also
has first and second loupe orienting features 86A, 86B defined by
the visor 84. In this embodiment, the two loupe orienting features
86A, 86B have an arcuate shape which is sized to correspond to the
shape of the loupes 34A, 34B where they contact the carrier lenses
36A, 36B, respectively, of a pair of surgical loupe glasses 30. The
visor 84 has a first light filter 88A and a second light filter
88B. Depending on the embodiment, the light filters 88A, 88B could
include one or more of a variety of different light filters,
including, but not limited to a polarization filter and a color
filter. In the example embodiment of FIG. 6A, the first light
filter 88A is a vertical polarization filter illustrated
schematically with the vertical shading lines, while the second
light filter 88B is a horizontal polarization filter illustrated
schematically with the horizontal shading lines. In other
embodiments, the visor 84 could be opaque. The visor 84 further
defines a first flex void 90A in communication between the first
loupe orienting feature 86A and an outer edge 92 of the visor 84.
The visor 84 also defines a second flex void 90B in communication
between the second loupe orienting feature 86B and the outer edge
92 of the visor 84.
[0041] FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the optical attachment 82
of FIG. 6A installed on a pair of surgical loupe glasses 30. The
first and second flex voids 90A, 90B have allowed the loupe
orienting features 86A, 86B to be aligned over the respective
loupes 34A, 34B, thereby converting the carrier lens portions of
the surgical loupe glasses for 3D viewing of a 3D display (by
virtue of the differing light filters 88A, 88B on the optical
attachment 82), while still allowing the surgeon to have magnified
vision when looking through the loupes 34A, 34B. This can be set up
before a surgical procedure using the surgeon's regular or
prescription surgical loupe glasses, does not require permanent
modification to the surgical loupe glasses, and is easily removable
for other surgical procedures.
[0042] FIG. 7A illustrates another embodiment of an optical
attachment 94 for surgical loupe glasses. The optical attachment 94
has a visor 96 which is sized to cover at least a portion of two
carrier lenses of a pair of surgical loupe glasses, such as the
surgical loupe glasses 30 of FIG. 1. The optical attachment 94 also
has first and second loupe orienting features 98A, 98B defined by
the visor 96. In this embodiment, the loupe orienting features 98A,
98B have an arcuate shape which is sized to correspond to the shape
of the loupes 34A, 34B where they contact the carrier lenses 36A,
36B, respectively, of a pair of surgical loupe glasses 30. The
visor 96 has a first optical region 100A and a second optical
region 100B. The first optical region 100A is positioned to overlap
with at least a portion of a first carrier lens, while the second
optical region 100B is positioned to overlap with at least a
portion of a second carrier lens. In this embodiment the first
optical region 100A has a first light filter 102A, while the second
optical region 100B has a second light filter 102B. Depending on
the embodiment, the light filters 102A, 102BB could include one or
more of a variety of different light filters, including, but not
limited to a polarization filter and a color filter. In the example
embodiment of FIG. 7A, the first light filter 102A is a vertical
polarization filter illustrated schematically with the vertical
shading lines, while the second light filter 102B is a horizontal
polarization filter illustrated schematically with the horizontal
shading lines. In other embodiments, the visor 96 could be opaque.
The optical regions 100A, 100B provide filtering functionality, for
example to support 3D viewing, while the visor 96 portions outside
of the optical regions can be of different properties (for example,
transparent), thereby allowing other types of vision. The visor 96
further defines a first flex void 104A in communication between the
first loupe orienting feature 98A and an outer edge 106 of the
visor 96. The visor 96 also defines a second flex void 104B in
communication between the second loupe orienting feature 98B and
the outer edge 106 of the visor 96.
[0043] FIG. 7B is a perspective view of the optical attachment 94
of FIG. 7A installed on a pair of surgical loupe glasses 30. The
first and second flex voids 104A, 104B have allowed the loupe
orienting features 98A, 98B to be aligned over the respective
loupes 34A, 34B, thereby converting the carrier lens portions of
the surgical loupe glasses for 3D viewing of a 3D display (by
virtue of the differing light filters 102A, 102B on the optical
attachment 94), while still allowing the surgeon to have magnified
vision when looking through the loupes 34A, 34B. This can be set up
before a surgical procedure using the surgeon's regular or
prescription surgical loupe glasses, does not require permanent
modification to the surgical loupe glasses, and is easily removable
for other surgical procedures.
[0044] FIG. 8 illustrates another embodiment of an optical
attachment 108 for surgical loupe glasses. The optical attachment
108 has a visor 110 which is sized to cover at least a portion of
two carrier lenses of a pair of surgical loupe glasses, such as the
surgical loupe glasses 30 of FIG. 1. The optical attachment 108
also has first and second loupe orienting features 112A, 112B
defined by the visor 110. In this embodiment, the loupe orienting
features 112A, 112B have a squared shape. The visor 110 has a first
light filter 114A and a second light filter 114B. Depending on the
embodiment, the light filters 114A, 114B could include one or more
of a variety of different light filters, including, but not limited
to a polarization filter and a color filter. In the example
embodiment of FIG. 8, the first light filter 114A is a vertical
polarization filter illustrated schematically with the vertical
shading lines, while the second light filter 114B is a horizontal
polarization filter illustrated schematically with the horizontal
shading lines. In other embodiments, the visor 110 could be opaque.
The visor 110 further defines a first flex void 116A in
communication between the first loupe orienting feature 112A and an
outer edge 118 of the visor 110. The visor 110 also defines a
second flex void 116B in communication between the second loupe
orienting feature 112B and the outer edge 118 of the visor 110.
[0045] FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment of an optical
attachment 120 for surgical loupe glasses. The optical attachment
120 has a visor 122 which is sized to cover at least a portion of
two carrier lenses of a pair of surgical loupe glasses, such as the
surgical loupe glasses 30 of FIG. 1. The optical attachment 120
also has first and second loupe orienting features 124A, 124B
defined by the visor 122. In this embodiment, the loupe orienting
features 124A, 124B have an arcuate shape which is sized to
correspond to the shape of the loupes 34A, 34B where they contact
the carrier lenses 36A, 36B, respectively, of a pair of surgical
loupe glasses 30. The visor 122 has a first light filter 126A and a
second light filter 126B. Depending on the embodiment, the light
filters 126A, 126B could include one or more of a variety of
different light filters, including, but not limited to a
polarization filter and a color filter. In the example embodiment
of FIG. 9, the first light filter 126A is a vertical polarization
filter illustrated schematically with the vertical shading lines,
while the second light filter 126B is a horizontal polarization
filter illustrated schematically with the horizontal shading lines.
In other embodiments, the visor 122 could be opaque. The visor 122
further defines a first flex void 128A in communication with the
first loupe orienting feature 124A. The visor 122 also defines a
second flex void 128B in communication with the second loupe
orienting feature 124B.
[0046] FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment where the optical
attachments 38A, 38B discussed above with regard to FIG. 2A are
joined by an embodiment of a coupler 130. Depending on the
embodiment, the coupler could be rigid, flexible, shapeable and
could be made from a variety of materials. In some embodiments, the
coupler 130 could also be configured to couple to the frame of a
pair of surgical loupe glasses.
[0047] FIG. 11 illustrates another embodiment where the optical
attachments 38A, 38B discussed above with regard to FIG. 2A are
joined by a further embodiment of a coupler 132. In this
embodiment, the coupler 132 is a cord.
[0048] FIG. 12A illustrates another embodiment of an optical
attachment 134 for surgical loupe glasses. The optical attachment
134 has a visor 136 which is sized to cover at least a portion of
two carrier lenses of a pair of surgical loupe glasses, such as the
surgical loupe glasses 30 of FIG. 1. The optical attachment 134
also has first and second loupe orienting features 138A, 138B
defined by the visor 136. In this embodiment, the first loupe
orienting feature 138A has an arcuate shape which is sized to
correspond closely to the shape of the first loupe 34A where it
contacts the carrier lens 36A of a pair of surgical loupe glasses
30. The second loupe orienting feature 138B is sized to rest on a
top surface of the second loupe 34B, but it has an orientation
width WO which is substantially wider than the second loupe 34B.
This combination of two different loupe orienting features enables
the optical attachment 134 to couple nicely to the first loupe 34A,
while being able to accommodate a variety of spacings between the
first and second loupes 34A, 34B. As with other embodiments, the
visor 136 has a first light filter 140A and a second light filter
140B. Depending on the embodiment, the light filters 140A, 140B
could include one or more of a variety of different light filters,
including, but not limited to a polarization filter and a color
filter. In the example embodiment of FIG. 12A, the first light
filter 140A is a vertical polarization filter illustrated
schematically with the vertical shading lines, while the second
light filter 140B is a horizontal polarization filter illustrated
schematically with the horizontal shading lines. In other
embodiments, the visor 136 could be opaque. The visor 136 further
defines a first flex void 142 in communication between the first
loupe orienting feature 138A and an outer edge 144 of the visor
136.
[0049] FIG. 12B is a perspective view of the optical attachment 134
of FIG. 12A installed on a pair of surgical loupe glasses 30. The
first flex void 142 has allowed the first loupe orienting feature
138A to be aligned over the loupe 34A, while the second loupe
orienting feature 138B rests on the second loupe 34B, thereby
converting the carrier lens portions of the surgical loupe glasses
for 3D viewing of a 3D display (by virtue of the differing light
filters 140A, 140B on the optical attachment 134), while still
allowing the surgeon to have magnified vision when looking through
the loupes 34A, 34B. This can be set up before a surgical procedure
using the surgeon's regular or prescription surgical loupe glasses,
does not require permanent modification to the surgical loupe
glasses, and is easily removable for other surgical procedures.
[0050] Various advantages of an optical attachment for surgical
loupe glasses have been discussed above. Embodiments discussed
herein have been described by way of example in this specification.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the forgoing
detailed disclosure is intended to be presented by way of example
only, and is not limiting. Various alterations, improvements, and
modifications will occur and are intended to those skilled in the
art, though not expressly stated herein. These alterations,
improvements, and modifications are intended to be suggested
hereby, and are within the spirit and the scope of the claimed
invention. Additionally, the recited order of processing elements
or sequences, or the use of numbers, letters, or other designations
therefore, is not intended to limit the claims to any order, except
as may be specified in the claims. Accordingly, the invention is
limited only by the following claims and equivalents thereto.
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